2016-Jul 01: New industry partnership with the Bank of China for visitor visas

Visa Pak 266 - Immigration New Zealand's industry partnership with Bank of China and how this applies to Visitor Visa applicants.

Visa Paks

01 July 2016

New industry partnership with the Bank of China for visitor visas

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has entered into a partnership arrangement with the Bank of China Limited, expanding on INZ’s already established Tourism Industry Partnerships (TIPs). Under this arrangement, holders of People’s Republic of China passports who are Bank of China Wealth Management (aka ‘Prestigious Wealth Management’) or Private Banking clients are able to receive a streamlined service when applying for visitor visas to travel to New Zealand. This arrangement comes into effect from 1 July 2016.

People who are eligible for this service can apply for visitor visas without giving evidence of onward travel from New Zealand, or of their financial or employment status, provided they instead give evidence that they are Wealth Management or Private Banking clients at the Bank of China. Of course, immigration officers may request other documents to determine if a client meets the relevant immigration instructions, if they think it necessary.

Details for all current TIPs can be found on the INZ website.

Action

For your information. Immigration offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong have been provided with operating procedures specific to the Bank of China TIP to refer to when processing visitor visa applications made under this arrangement.